NAFDAC Destroyed N1.5tn Fake Products in Three Years – DG

 

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has disclosed that it has seized or destroyed fake and substandard regulated products worth more than ₦1.54 trillion across Nigeria since 2023.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, made the disclosure in Lagos amid growing concerns over the circulation of counterfeit medicines, food products, beverages, cosmetics and other regulated goods in the country.

Adeyeye described counterfeiters as “merchants of death”, stressing that the agency would maintain a zero-tolerance approach towards the production and distribution of dangerous products.

According to the NAFDAC boss, one of the agency’s biggest enforcement operations took place between February and March 2025, when coordinated raids were carried out at Idumota Market in Lagos, Onitsha and Ariaria International Market in Aba.

The operations resulted in the seizure and destruction of more than 137 truckloads of counterfeit and substandard products, with the goods valued at over ₦1.5 trillion.

The agency has also carried out several operations targeting fake, expired and banned medicines.

In February 2026, NAFDAC destroyed more than ₦15 billion worth of fake, expired, counterfeit and banned medicines in Ibadan, Oyo State. The products included Analgin, Co-codamol, codeine-based syrups, Tramadol, Oxytocin and expired vaccines.

Another operation in Ibadan in December 2024 resulted in the destruction of expired and unregistered drugs worth ₦11 billion, while NAFDAC destroyed another ₦1.8 billion worth of counterfeit medicines and other prohibited products in Kuje, Abuja, in March 2026.

Beyond medicines, the agency has intensified its crackdown on counterfeit beverages, spirits and food products. In Aba, NAFDAC destroyed products worth ₦5 billion in December 2023 after shutting down 150 shops. A follow-up operation in December 2024 led to the closure of 250 shops and uncovered similar products valued at ₦7 billion.

Adeyeye said the street value of products destroyed by the agency nationwide in 2024 alone exceeded ₦120 billion.